Selecting a new head football coach at Webster Schroeder, Athletic Director Gary Tirohn chose assistant coach Kali Watkins., after head coach Chris Urban decided to give up the job following last season’s Section 5 championship.
“I don't think we missed a beat,” Tirohn said. “I think that Kali has paid his dues as an assistant coach and he's transitioned into a varsity head coach without any problems. It's been very seamless.
“That's a tribute to our organization as they delegate a lot of responsibility to the assistant coaches, so it's easy for them to step up into a varsity head coaching position.”
Having been an assistant for four years makes the transition to head coach easier.
“It's nice to know all the kids, that's a huge factor in taking over a program,” Tirohn said. “Our coaching staff, especially this one, have worked well together. They're a team of coaches, they're not independent coaches working for me. They're working for the kids, and that's a tribute to them, really thinking about what they can do best for kids.”
Watkins, 33, also was an assistant coach at Irondequoit for five seasons, his alma meter, and a defensive backs coach at the University of Rochester for a year before he became the offensive coordinator at Schroeder.
He was a receiver and safety when he played at Irondequoit, Class of 1995. He received a degree from the University at Buffalo in elementary education, where he was a two-year captain for the Bulls.
Watkins resides in Webster, and is an English teacher at Wilson in the Rochester City School District.
It is believed that Watkins is the first African-American to be the head varsity coach in the Monroe County league.
Q: How has the transition been from assistant coach to head coach?
A: It's been real fun. I've been here for four years prior so I know all the kids. I've been calling the offense, so nothing has really changed. I believe in the same stuff Coach (Chris) Urban has been preaching. It's not much different. The kids just come to a different person now after water breaks.
The Warriors won their first Section 5 title last season since 2003.
Asked if there is pressure on him to repeat, Watkins said, “I wouldn't call it pressure. It's an unwritten rule around Webster being successful. By success, we're going to measure by how much we grow as a team from where we start to where we finish. If that happens to be a sectional title, that's great. If ti happens to be 4-4 or 5-5, as long as the kids keep getting better each week is all we care about.”
Watkins has three-year starting quarterback, junior Parrish McKnight, calling the signals.
“It's hard to replace Pete Noto, Nick DiMartino, Cody Consul, Chris Thompkins, and Shawn Burke,” Watkins said. “Those kind of guys are probably some of the best leaders we've had in this program.
“Now we have to go back to basics in terms of coaching and teaching these kids the way we want things done. We use those former players as models to what these guys can aspire to be like.”
Q: What's your coaching philosophy?
A: It's not much different from Coach Urban’s. We go out and give 100 percent maximum effort all the time. I'm a high-energy coach, so I expect my players to come out with the same enthusiasm and give the same maximum effort as with what I coach with.
Q: What have you picked up coaching-wise over the years to be able to help you as head coach?
A: Coach Urban was my mentor when I first came here, and I've learned a ton about managing players, managing a team. The kind of expectations we have for our whole team, expectations that we have for our coaching staff. I picked up a lot of that from Coach Urban, and watching him over the years. I also coached with Mark Cretin and Tony Bianchi at the U of R, just learning different techniques and schemes in terms of coaching their positions over there, it's just been so much I actually haven't been able to grasp everything.
Watkins has three returning starters on offense and three on defense.
McKnight, a three-year starter, has thrown for 2,264 yards, 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The other key returnees are: Mark Guarino-Hyde (Jr. OL/DL), Paul Dyroff (Sr. DB), Jack Ouellette (Sr. RB/DB), and Ryan DiMino (Sr. OL).
The top newcomers include: Adam Schoeffler (Jr. OL/DL), Josh Reed (Jr. RB/LB), Andre Nix (Sr. RB/LB) from Rush-Henrietta, Mike Musson (Jr. WR/DB), and Chris Ingrassia (Jr. WR/FS).
In two varsity seasons, Ouellette and Dyroff were both starting cornerbacks in the defensive secondary, each recording a pair of interceptions during the 2009 season. Guarino-Hyde started all 11 games in 2009 and has been on the varsity since he was a freshman.
The strength of the team will be with veteran QB play and offensive line (Guarino-Hyde second team All-Greater Rochester). The challenges will be replacing the leadership of the senior class and the big play targets (Noto, DiMartino, Consul, and Thompkins).
Watkins sees Rush-Henrietta as the team to beat as the Royal Comets return a crew of big time threats at the skill and QB positions.
Schroeder opens the season on Saturday at 2 p.m. at R-H.
